Kochi: The water-level of Periyar continued to dip alarmingly during low tide on Tuesday as the threat of saline water intruding into the upstream portion of the river and affecting drinking water supply to greater Kochi area loomed large.
The Kerala Water Authority (KWA) officials demanded the immediate repair of shutters at Purapallikavu regulator, located at the northern boundary of Periyar, so as to prevent the salt water intrusion during high-tide.
“The water from Periyar flows into sea during low tide and touched 2.5 feet mark below the Mean Sea level today morning. Currently, the water supply is on track. But if the water flow from lower Periyar stops, then there is a threat of sea water intrusion,” said a top official at KWA pump house, Aluva.
If the brackish water from Vembanad lake reaches Aluva where the pump house is situated, the water supply will be disrupted as the KWA plant does not have a system to treat water with high saline content.
A total of 290 MLD purified water is supplied to various parts of the Kochi city from the Aluva pump house daily. Currently only three out of the total 23 shutters of the Purapallikkavu regulator have been shut. The shutters have got jammed due to wooden logs and other heavy materials, which got washed aside during the recent floods.
The water-level of Peri-yar began to dip after all four shutters of the Ida-malayar river were closed down on September nine. However, water from Low-er valley still flows into Periyar through the Bhootattankettu dam, the shutters of which have been kept open.
“The KSEB has also begun to remove mud and slush from Cheruthoni dam to restart power generation process. This has also resulted in increased turbidity level of river Periyar, forcing us to stop water intake a couple of times,” the official said.
